An air-cooled multipurpose engine having an air cleaner on a fan cover that covers a cooling fan is already known as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-213429.
An air-cleaner case of the air cleaner is integrally formed on the fan cover. A filter is placed inside the case via an opening in the air-cleaner case. The opening is covered by an air-cleaner cover.
When such an engine is used as, e.g., an engine generator, the engine, the cooling fan, the generator, the air cleaner, and the like must be accommodated inside an external case in order to ensure transportability or the like.
Ordinarily, a maintenance cover is provided for performing maintenance on the components inside the external case.
However, the air cleaner disclosed in the 2000-213429 publication has an air cleaner accommodated inside the air-cleaner case integrally formed with the fan cover, and the opening is covered by the air cleaner cover. Accordingly, when the air-cleaner cover is to be replaced, the maintenance cover disposed in the vicinity of the air-cleaner cover is first detached and the opening of the external case is exposed. Next, a worker inserts his hand into the external case through the opening in the external case, removes the air-cleaner cover from the air-cleaner case, and exposes the opening of the air-cleaner cover. The filter is then removed from the exposed opening and replaced with a new filter.
In other words, two covers, i.e., an air-cleaner cover and a maintenance cover, are required in the case that the air-cooled multipurpose engine is used as an engine generator or the like. Accordingly, time is required to perform maintenance on the air cleaner or to replace the filter, resulting in a hindrance to reducing the weight of the engine generator.